I first encountered this fine winter soup at the Essene Cafe, where it was love at first taste. I “reverse engineered” it in my own kitchen so I could have it whenever I wanted.

1 (preferably unwaxed) rutabaga, peeled and cubed
several handfuls of fresh mushrooms, any kind will do
1 tablespoon (or more) butter
onion and/or shallots, minced
splash of white wine (optional)
3 cups chicken or vegatable broth, more or less
enough milk or cream to thin to desired consistency
nutmeg or mace for garnishing at the end

Remove grit from mushrooms with a paper towel or brush, then slice thickly. If you use shiitake, remove the inedible stems and simmer them with the broth to get a nice mushroomy flavor.

Melt butter and saute the mushroom slices till they have given off their juice and are beginning to brown. Set aside in a bowl. In the now-empty mushroom pan, sauté the minced onions/shallot mix, adding a bit more butter if necessary. When the onions are cooked and beginning to brown around the edges, add a splash of white wine (optional) and let it quickly evaporate, then transfer to a soup pot and add the broth. Stir in the diced rutabaga and simmer till very tender, adding more broth along the way if necessary. When ready to serve, either mash the rutabaga (for a lumpy, more peasant style) or run through a blender (for creamy European-style first course type soup). Return everything to soup pot, add reserved mushrooms and enough milk or cream to thin to desired consistency and creaminess. Heat but do not allow to boil, then serve garnished with fresh grated nutmeg or mace.

WARNING: All measurements are estimates and not meant to be taken too seriously. Feel free to add a few parsnips or a small potato to the rutabagas if your rutabaga is small. You can make a wonderful “on the fly” veggie broth by simmering the onion and shallot peelings, mushroom trimmings, and rutabaga peels plus celery or parsley or perhaps a stray carrot.

The pork recipe is “momofuku” (don’t say that part too fast) “bo sam” — and some restaurant in NYC charges $200 for it. But pork shoulder is about $1.29 a pound, and this is the easiest recipe you’ll ever make other than “boil water.”

As you noticed, I didn’t bother with the sauces — but did serve hot sauce on the side, like you would in the south with pulled pork. I think one could add BBQ spices to the sugar/salt mix and do this forever on the grill. But it is so simple as is, with none of the Korean sauce frills.

The two stories — one is the background on the recipe, the other the recipe itself. The pork shoulder I used the other night was 11.49 pounds — didn’t get it in the oven early enough so it wasn’t darkly glazed as the one in the NyTimes.

Description of Dish

Recipe

A great tasting dish fragrant with fresh sage, thyme, & shallots, plus a dash of freshly grated nutmeg.

3 pounds carrots, peeled
1 cup chicken stock or broth
salt & black pepper
1/2 pound shallots, thinly slicked
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (or olive oil)
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Cut carrots into 3-by-1/2-inch sticks.

Bring stock to a boil in a heavy skillet. Add carrots and simmer, covered, until just tender, about 15 minutes

Remove lid and boil until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Transfer carrots to a bowl and wipe out skillet.

Cook shallots in butter (or olive oil) with a little salt and pepper in skillet over medium heat, stiring occasionally, until deep golden, about 6 minutes.

Add sage, thyme, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, until very fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and return carrots to skillet, tossing to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

The gorgeous colors of fresh fruits and vegetables are great for composing “designer salads”, but the colors are also an index of healthy phytonutrients which are a hot topic in research these days.

Anthocyanins are red/blue/purple — think beets, red grapes (and red wine), strawberries, cherries, red cabbage, pomegranates, plums, cranberries, blackberries, blue berries and raspberries as well as dark leafy greens like chard, kale & collards (the red pigment is hidden by the chlorophyll). In plants, the anthocyanins absorb visible and UV light to minimize oxidative damage from solar radiation. In animals and humans who eat plants, the anthocyanins protect against oxidative damage caused by free radicals. They also reduce inflammation, protect against cancer…

Lycopene is red — think tomato, watermelon, pink grapefruit as well as apricots and pink guavas. They reduce the risk of several types of cancer.

Carotenoids are bright orange/yellow, present in carrots, pumpkins, mangos, apricots, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes. They are antioxidants that also help improve communication between cells.

Lutins are green but considered a sub-class of carotenoids. They are present in collards, kale, peas, spinach & romaine lettuce. The reduce the risk of macular degeneration of the retina.

So go wild with color in your salads — technicolor combinations of veggies equals healthy! But don’t stop there. It turns out that herbs are packed with curative compounds, too — so a tablespoon of chopped basil, parsley, sage, thyme or tarragon will not only taste delightful but pack a nutritional punch as well.

These fritters are from Bert Greene’s “Greene on Greens”. He got the recipe from a “motherly lady” of Pennsylvania Dutch heritage who once interviewed him for a local radio station in Niagara Falls. Bert says these airy fritters “virtually melt on the tongue. The recipe came my way by one of those supreme happenstances I generally call fate…These are simply the best corn fritters you will ever eat!”

4 large ears fresh corn
2 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar (I prefer using only 1 teaspoon and putting honey on the finished product)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Unsalted butter

On the first 2 ears, cut the kernels at about half their depth and then, with the back of the blade, scrape off what is left on the cob, mixing the cut pulp and “milk” with the kernels. Cut the kernels off the other two ears and put both corns in a medium mixing bowl. The mixture will resemble scrambled eggs.

Separate the eggs. Beat the egg yolks till light, then add flour, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the corn.

Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks with an eggbeater or electric mixer. Fold them gently into the corn mixture. Keep a light hand as you work, as these fritters are very delicate.

Heat a heavy skillet or griddle over medium heat and butter it lightly. Drop small spoonfuls of batter onto the hot griddle and cook until golden, about 30 seconds per side. Keep the fritters warm in a low oven while you cook the remaining batter.

At the end, I sprinkled them with honey and some smashed toasted coriander seeds, which was a departure from Bert’s original recipe.

About 2 cups beets (measure after they have been cooked & sliced/diced)
1 medium onion, cut into “half-moon” slices
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water or beet cooking liquid if it is flavorful
1/2 tsp salt
12 whole cloves
4 whole allspice berries
stick of cinnamon
hard-boiled eggs if using, peeled

Steam or boil the beets till tender, then use your hand to slip off the peels and trim the root end with a knife. Cut into slices or dice.

Peel onion, cut in half, and slice into half-moons.

In a non-reactive pan, combine the sugar, vinegar, beet broth or water, salt, and spices — taste as you mix to get your personal perfect proportion of sugar to vinegar. Boil gently for 5 or 6 minutes to blend the flavors. Add the onion slices and stir into the boiling liquid, then remove from heat and add the beets. Let cool, then refrigerate. Gets better the second day. Serve chilled.

You can add a few whole hardboiled eggs to pickle along with the beets — if so, double the pickling liquid so there is plenty of juice to cover the eggs. They will turn a shocking pink color which looks quite festive when the eggs are cut in half or quarters to serve. Don’t pickle the eggs longer than two days, however, because they will get rubbery.

This recipe comes from Bert Greene (author of “Greene on Greens”), who “acquired it from a country gentlewoman in Ohio some years back. She told me that her great-grandmother had written this recipe down over a hundred years ago and she had never seen fit to alter it a jot. Such endorsement is good enough for me. I never altered it either, for it is very, very special.”

3 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 small onion, minced
1 pound turnips, peeled, cut into strips 2 inches long by 1/2 inch wide
1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in the onion; cook 5 minutes. Stir in the turnips, tomato, sugar, and allspice. Mix well. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 15 minutes. Add the salt and pepper, and sprinkle with the parsley. Serves 4.

2 handfuls baby red, gold & purple potatoes
1 handful green beans
1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
Onion, chopped

Indian Spices (mix & match as you like or use everything as I prefer):
1/4 Tsp Tumeric
1/2 Tsp Black Mustard Seed
1/2 Tsp Whole Cumin Seed
1/2 Tsp Whole Coriander Seed
1 Tbsp Fresh Ginger, cut in match sticks
15 Curry Leaves (optional)
Pinch of Asafetida (optional)
Dash of ground Fenugreek (optional)
Dried Red Pepper

Oil for stir-frying
Melted ghee or butter for finishing (optional)
Fresh coriander leaves & lemon wedges for garnish

Boil the potatoes till just tender, then cool and cut in halves. Steam green beans till they turn dark green. Drain chick peas and dice the onion.

Heat oil in a wok or frying pan over high heat, add the mustard seeds and when they start to pop add the ginger and curry leaves (if using). Add cumin, coriander seed, dried red pepper broken in half and let sizzle for a few seconds. Add onions, turmeric and asafetida/fenugreek if using. Add potatoes and toss with the onions and spices, letting them begin to brown around the edges. Add drained garbanzos, cover and let steam briefly. Remove lid, toss in green beans, and remove from heat. Adjust salt and add a little melted ghee or butter over the top for added flavor if you like.

Garnish with lemon wedges and fresh coriander if using. Serve with warmed Indian flat bread (naan, roti, chapati, parathas), yoghurt, and some mango or lemon pickle, or chutney.

NOTE: Indian flatbreads, curry leaves and mango & lemon pickles are all available at the Indian grocery at 42nd and Walnut next to the Wawa.

Linda Witt found this amazing post about the culinary delights of day lilies on Oldhouse Gardens. Who knew? Now if we only had a recipe for Delphinium…

Tasty Beauty: Eating Daylily Buds

WARNING: BE SURE YOU ARE GATHERING DAYLILIES — OTHER VARIETIES OF LILY ARE POISONOUS!

In Asia where daylilies grow wild, people have been eating their roots, flowers, and buds for millennia. Today the dried buds known as “golden needles” are often found in the Asian food section of American supermarkets. They’re even tastier, though, when fresh picked from your own garden.

In his award-winning blog Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, Hank Shaw recommends a very simple saute: “Just lily buds, butter and salt. Delicious. Briefly cooked, the buds have a bit of knacken, a German expression meaning a ‘pop’. Yet the insides reminded me of squash blossoms. The taste? Green, with a whiff of radish and a dash of green bean. Honestly, I’d eat this as a side dish any day, any place. It needs nothing else.” Shaw isn’t as enthusiastic about the flowers (“okay”) and leaves (“not terrible”) but calls daylily roots “quite possibly the best tubers I’ve ever eaten.”

For a slightly more complicated recipe, try this Daylily Bud Saute with a hint of nutmeg from Golden Harvest Organics:

24 daylily buds
1 clove garlic, finely minced
olive oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
dash of nutmeg
1 tsp milk, as needed

Cut the base off the buds. Saute the garlic in olive oil. Beat eggs and mix in enough flour to make a thin batter. Add the sauteed garlic, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. If the batter is too thick, add a teaspoon or so of milk. Dip the buds in the batter and saute until golden brown. Enjoy!

If you happen to try any of these daylily recipes please send your reactions to webmaster@swqvgarden.org and I will post them here.

This recipe is adopted from Diana Kennedy’s “The Cuisines of Mexico”. It has the wonderfully fresh and uncomplicated flavor of young corn.

4 cups corn (or kernels from 5 ears)
2 or 3 large green poblano chilies
6 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp butter (or more)
1/2 cup milk or cream

Garnish: slivered cilantro leaves, strips of roasted poblanos, sour cream, etc.

Roast the poblanos over a gas flame till they begin to char, then wipe off the charred skin with a paper towel. Remove seeds and veins, and if they are very picante soak in salted water for about 30 minutes to remove some of the heat.

Put roasted peppers in a blender, along with 1/4 cup broth. Blend to a puree, then melt butter in a pan and cook puree over high heat for about 3 minutes. Add the rest of the chicken broth (5 1/2 cups) and the corn, and simmer till the corn is cooked, about 20 minutes. [If you want to try Diana's original recipe, stop here. Garnish with poblano strips, farmer cheese, and fried tortilla triangles. Otherwise, continue...]

Return the soup to the blender and blend till smooth, then pour back into the pan and add 1/2 cup milk or cream (or to taste) and heat gently.

Garnish with cilantro slivers and/or a bit of sour cream.